


The End

by GuardianofFun



Category: Star Trek: Enterprise
Genre: Bittersweet, Fix-It, Future Fic, M/M, Multi, TATV never happened, Weddings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-03
Updated: 2017-06-03
Packaged: 2018-11-08 07:28:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,585
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11076864
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GuardianofFun/pseuds/GuardianofFun
Summary: Many years after the Enterprise has docked for the last time, Trip and Malcolm don their dress uniforms one last time for their daughter's wedding.





	The End

**Author's Note:**

> Sometimes I try fluff but normally it just ends sadly, I'm so sorry. Also for posting nothing and then filling the ENT page w my crap lol
> 
> I JUST LOVE OLDER COUPLES, GIVE ME GREYING MALCOLM REED AND PUDGY TRIP TUCKER PLS

Charlie grins over her husband’s shoulder, and suddenly Trip can’t breathe. The music continues, and his daughter continues to twirl her way across the dance floor, but Trip’s world has frozen. A hand seeks out his, and he finds the roughened fingers of his husbands slipping through his. He looks over and Malcolm’s eyes are lined with age, but they shine with tears and when he smiles it kickstarts his heart and he grins back. 

The soft lights above them wrap the room in a warm cocoon, the small but tight knit group held together in the glow as night creeps up on them. The music swells and someone, maybe it’s Hoshi, prods Trip’s back and he drags Malcolm onto the dance floor. He sways with Malcolm in his arms, pressing kisses to his greying hair. Malcolm chuckles, a hand on his waist as he takes the lead, and guides Trip across the floor in a reprise of their own first dance. Maybe the other guests are joining them in dance but Trip doesn’t notice because his eyes are stuck on Malcolm. When he does look up, his eyes hone in on his little girl as she laughs in her husband’s arms. 

She looks stunning, as always, in a dress that fits her perfectly, and jewels in her hair that bring out the blue in her eyes. Her husband, Harry, stares at her with more love than Trip thought possible, and he thanks every god he knows, because she deserves nothing but happiness. Malcolm is still spinning him across the dance floor but Trip’s mind is elsewhere now, thrown back so many years ago to memories of his little girl the first time they brought her home. It had taken so long, so many meetings and interviews, but that sunny day in September they finally brought her home.

Though it’s Malcolm in his arms right now, his thoughts are sent back all those years, to dancing around the kitchen with her in his arms instead; of taking her out to the beach as the sun sets and running along the sand until they’re breathless, of hiding in the shadows until Malcolm finds them. Lying on the sofa, his husband and daughter asleep beside him, the flickering tv casting shadows across their faces. The memories shift then, from the little girl to the surly teenager who was never all that bad, who still found time to sit with her dads sometimes, who got stuck in when they spent hours in the garage tinkering with old cars and was always up for a hike. Back then those days had felt like they stretched on for an eternity, but now they seem so far away. 

His chest aches with the bittersweet feeling of the years slipping past him, and he can feel hot tears sliding down his face. Malcolm shifts in his arms and he realises the music has stopped and there’s cheering around him, but it all falls away because when Malcolm looks at him, his eyes are full of the same tears. He can’t find the right words, so he leans down and Malcolm reaches up, in perfect synchronisation and they share a kiss that says more than words ever could. 

Another song starts playing, something ancient about princesses and fathers and midnight dances. Malcolm pulls away, smiling and thank goodness for him, otherwise Trip wouldn’t be able to walk right now. Charlie winds her way through the crowd, throwing her arms around him, and her laughter is infectious. Malcolm’s hand falls from his so Trip can hold her too and they dance completely out of time. He certainly isn’t as young as he used to be and Charlie’s not so small, but he lifts her anyways, ignoring the twinge in his back. He drops her back down and cups her cheek.

“I’m so proud of you baby,” he says, voice trembling. 

“Thanks dad,” she says, squeezing him around his much-softer-than-it-used-to-be middle. “I’m proud of you too,” she said smirking. “I thought you’d’ve been crying much earlier than this.” He scoffs, giving her arm a playful prod. 

“Don’t sass me young lady, or I’ll set your father on you,” he says, trying to look angry. The both laugh again as Malcolm dances past in the arms of a grinning Jonathan. Charlie smiles, bright and beautiful. 

“I’m so glad uncle Jon made it,” she says and her eyes follow the duo around the room, watching the faces of the rest of their family and friends pass. Her new family mixed in with the rest of the Tucker clan, Madeline Reed somewhere amongst the crewmen of the Enterprise who had come to make up Malcolm’s family. The gathering wasn’t huge, but there was more than enough love to go around.

“Me too,” he says as the song comes to a stop, and he gives her one last squeeze, pressing a kiss to her cheek. Her godfather was so busy nowadays, officiating First Contacts across the galaxy, but he had made time to leave the admiral’s work for a few days to see her. 

Trip twirls Charlie one last time, letting her dance into Malcolm’s arms and takes a step back. 

Of course, he thinks to himself, Malcolm isn’t a blubbering mess like he is. Malcolm dances with a smile, dry eyes and a laugh that makes this old man’s heart flutter still. Malcolm can keep time to the music, he dances with their daughter so gracefully Trip’s breath catches in his throat. There are footsteps behind him, and he turns to find T’Pol standing beside him. Annoyingly, she doesn’t seem to have aged at all, she looks no older than she did almost thirty years ago. She tilts her head, watching as he scrambles to wipe tears from his eyes. 

She says nothing, but offers him a tissue. 

“Thanks,” he says with a laugh, and he gets a nod in return, and the smallest of smiles.

“I have learnt over the years that it is best to arrive at these types of functions prepared,” she says, and it makes Trip chuckle again. 

“They c’n get pretty emotional,” he agrees, and the two of them watch Malcolm dance in a comfortable silence. There is something unspoken between them, the shared recognition of their past. The years have passed though and allowed them to heal and move on. Though they have both changed a lot in the years since they had parted ways, and whatever feelings they may have had for each other had disappeared with the wind, there is an undeniable bond between them now. T’Pol is one of his most trusted and loyal friends. 

Tucking the tissue in his pocket, he turns to her, one hand extended. 

“A dance?” he asks, grinning. She raises an eyebrow in a way that still makes him feel like a child. “C’mon,” he tries his best sad puppy look. “Song’s almost over anyway.” 

With another flicker of a smile, she nods, allowing Trip to take her wrist gently and walk her onto the dance floor. The move in simple steps, and back and forth across the floor. 

“Are you happy?” Trip finds himself asking, and T’Pol nods her head ever so slightly. 

“I live a comfortable life,” she says, and for a moment her eyes are looking past him, probably finding her wife amongst the crowd. Trip snorts softly. 

“Not sure Hoshi’d like that description, s’kinda boring,” he says as he dips her ever so slightly, gaining another piercing glare.

“Nonetheless she would agree,” she replies as the song draws to a close. Trip pulls her back up, but they stand for a moment still held in their half embrace. 

“We’ve had more than enough… excitement for one lifetime,” she says, so quietly it might as well be a whisper. 

Movement is happening around them, but for a moment they stand and T’Pol stretches up to press a kiss to his cheek. For a second Trip is reminded of another wedding, another planet. His heart, no longer so heavy with guilt and confusion, feels as though it swells. T’Pol and Hoshi deserve all happiness they have. 

“Congratulations Trip,” T’Pol breaks the silence again. Then, before he can reply, she slips from his arms and is lost in the crowd. 

There are hands at his back, loud laughs and jibes about going grey being thrown around him, though most of them are lost in a blur. He manages to spot Hoshi waving T’Pol over, and then Hoshi catches his eye and waves. He grins and returns the gesture. In amidst the people around him, he recognises the hand at his waist instantly. 

He tugs at it, bringing Malcolm into his arms and the other guests get the idea. Soon enough, the two of them stand alone, watching from the side as Charlie dances, her laughter as loud and bright as her smile, their family around her. 

Malcolm stands in his arms, Trip’s chin resting on his shoulder. They must look a sight, Trip thinks, two old and greying officers in dress uniforms that, at least in his case have been let out more than once. He’s still teary eyed, and even Malcolm is taking uneven breaths. It’s a good thing then, he thinks, that nobody is paying them the slightest bit of attention. As the newest married couple in Starfleet takes the floor, one of the eldest can step back into the shadows and retire into the history books with a happy ending. 

**Author's Note:**

> ?? idek at this point im jsut writing things for the heckie of it
> 
> i hope you enjoyed!! lemme know if it was decent or total crap lol
> 
> thanks for reading! <3


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